THOOTHUKUDI: Second-hand mobile traders must collect Aadhaar card details and other contact details from those who come to buy and sell used mobile phones at their stores, said Thoothukudi SP L Balaji Saravanan on Saturday.
In a press statement, the SP urged those who trade used mobile phones to compulsorily collect identity cards, driver's licences, photographs, house addresses, and mobile numbers from the sellers and buyers. "It is indeed necessary for the mobile phone traders to maintain a register to record the identities and contact details of those who sell and buy used mobiles so that the locality of the mobile phones could be traced," he said.
The SP also advised the public to format their mobile phones before selling as it is associated with great risk as the latest software can help retrieve the deleted data from any mobile phone.
A recent investigation into mobile theft cases and the recovery process revealed that the stolen mobiles are sold to traders at cheap prices and that second-hand phones are exchanged with customers on a deal. Thoothukudi police had recovered at least 500 mobile phones that were stolen. In most cases, the last recorded users from whom the stolen mobile was recovered, were innocent, said sources.